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Poaching and Hare Coursing
The policing of wildlife crime is targeted towards particular priorities. These priorities are set annually on a UK basis by the PAW High Level Group on recommendations from the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which is in turn informed in part by advice from the Joint Nature Conservation Council. Some of these priorities are decided by the conservation status of the species, these being crime against bats, hen harriers and the illegal trade in rare species listed under CITES Annex A. One policing priority is slightly different, that of dealing with poaching and hare coursing. This is a proactive response to a volume crime - there are probably more complaints of hare coursing and poaching in Scotland than all of the rest of the wildlife crime issues combined. In each of these priority areas a plan owner, prevention lead, intelligence lead and enforcement lead have been appointed on a UK basis. Because the nature of poaching in Scotland is slightly different, it will be dealt with separately for this initiative though we will continue to liaise with the rest of the UK. For Scotland the plan owner is Doug McAdam, chief executive of SRPBA; the prevention lead is Colin Shedden, director of BASC Scotland; the intelligence lead is Inspector Brian Stuart, National Wildlife Crime Unit. Alan Stewart, wildlife crime officer from Tayside Police is the enforcement lead. Efforts will be concentrated towards reducing and detecting deer & salmon poaching and hare coursing. We think it is important that all countryside and conservation organisations combine to demonstrate a unified front against those who participate in these offences. It is partly for this reason that other organisations are directly involved in the policing of poaching and coursing. In addition to the main organisations, support is given by a range of countryside bodies, particularly National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) and the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards (ASFB). This initiative was formally launched on Wednesday 5 November 2008 by the Environment Minister, Mike Russell MSP, at Abercorn Church Hall, Abercorn, by Newton, West Lothian, courtesy of Hopetoun Estates. Short addresses were made by Doug McAdam, the plan owner and Deputy Chief Constable Iain MacLeod, ACPOS lead for wildlife and environmental crime issues.
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